Customer service vent – to tell or not to tell.

[NcsstyBrdsIngnty]

After a snafu at work with my paycheck I went rounds with a customer service rep from our employee services firm (not our company, it's a company that handles our benefits) that repeatedly told me something was impossible and cut me off while I was talking. After the conversation, everything got taken care of by my in-house HR coworker and her contact at the company. I was then asked to fill out a complaint form so that our employee services firm can correct their customer service. I told our office HR lady that as a principle I don’t do that. Then a completely different coworker chimed in that not filling out the form is unproductive and that they should know what is wrong so they can fix it.

As a principle, unless I have stock in a company, I don’t tell them what they are doing wrong I just choose to let my dollars do the talking when I go-a-walkin’. In my opinion, I don’t make any money off of spending time telling them how to improve customer service and if the management isn’t aware of what is going on after recording phone calls and having processes in place for review then that is their problem – it isn’t for me to babysit people! People aren't stupid, they know what is going on - and I feel like filling out surveys and customer service questionaires are a waste of time I could be spending hanging out with my kiddo, petting my cat, clipping coupons, etc. At any job I have ever worked, with good bosses and bad ones, I have always had corrective criticism because the boss watches what I do – that is what they are paid for.

Well that and hanging out at the coffee pot .


Am I totally off base here? Do you complain when you get bad customer service or do you just walk?

[Russ]

I would complain.
While your "dollars walking" is a good way to express that complaint, typically the bad employees would still have a job because nobody complained about them.
Maybe the employees never got proper training in the first place.

[Greebo]

The company in question is employed by your company and is expected to do a good job. You were negatively affected by the attitude of one poor employee. How many co-workers would you also want to be affected?

You don't need to be an owner to state when you feel you've been treated badly. If I owned a business with employees, and I had an employee like this, I'd *WANT* to know that there was a problem, because that employee could be costing me business - and thus hurting that employee's coworkers.

Fill out the form - otherwise you risk causing harm to both your co-workers and to the idiot's you went rounds with.

[Greebo]

Also the assumption you're making that they automatically know what's going on is completely baseless. They may record calls, but I'll bet they don't listen to every one. They'd have to hire someone to do nothing but. Without your complaint form, how will they even know to pay special attention to this one bad apple?

[shoiji]

I have called and made complaints if I feel something should be done. No, I really do not enjoy it, however nothing will be done if a complaint is not made. It is why there is a form to be filled out. Also, your company is paying for their service. If the other company is providing horrible service why should your company pay for it?

[2ndGenGranola]

IMO you do have "stock" and dollars involved in this since it was your paycheck that they messed up. You also have time already invested with no profit (and a hang up). While you may not be the one responsible for hiring and firing them, your company is hiring them to perform a duty that they are not doing properly. You may not see directly the benefits of filling out a performance survey, but in one way or anther it does effect you.

[NcsstyBrdsIngnty]

Also the assumption you're making that they automatically know what's going on is completely baseless. They may record calls, but I'll bet they don't listen to every one. They'd have to hire someone to do nothing but. Without your complaint form, how will they even know to pay special attention to this one bad apple?

Why is it my job to go around telling people what they are doing wrong? In my opinion it is not.

It is in the business model of any decent company to make money, usually off of customers. They, their parent company, and their share holders (if applicable) benefit financially from keeping business, and they are the ones that loose when they don't keep that business. It is up to them to utilize their business practices - not me to be their fallback criticism to keep things running smoothly. If they don't want to utilize good business practices then that is their problem, not mine.

The thought that I am somehow doing a disservice to my fellow employees by not filling out a form seems extreme to me.

[Greebo]

Why is it my job to go around telling people what they are doing wrong? In my opinion it is not.

The HR manager asked you to fill out the form for the benefit of your company. Sounds like your job to me.

It is in the business model of any decent company to make money, usually off of customers. They, their parent company, and their share holders (if applicable) benefit financially from keeping business, and they are the ones that loose when they don't keep that business. It is up to them to utilize their business practices - not me to be their fallback criticism to keep things running smoothly. If they don't want to utilize good business practices then that is their problem, not mine.

Speaking as a business consultant (specializing in IT), collecting feedback *IS* a good business practice. Customer feedback is extremely important - managers cannot watch all of the employees all of the time - and you wouldn't want to work in an environment where they did. At least I hope you wouldn't. I like knowing I'm trusted by my employers.

The thought that I am somehow doing a disservice to my fellow employees by not filling out a form seems extreme to me.

And again, your HR department asked you to fill out the form so that this would not happen again to you or to someone else in your company. If it happens to you again, and you didn't fill out the form, will you then blame the management of the employee when you had an opportunity to set the wheels in motion to correct the issue? What if it happens to a co-worker and they know you didn't fill out the form and THEY have to deal with the same mess because you, what, didn't want to narc after you were inconvenienced and then treated extremely rudely?

[NcsstyBrdsIngnty]

The HR manager asked you to fill out the form for the benefit of your company. Sounds like your job to me.

And again, your HR department asked you to fill out the form so that this would not happen again to you or to someone else in your company. If it happens to you again, and you didn't fill out the form, will you then blame the management of the employee when you had an opportunity to set the wheels in motion to correct the issue? What if it happens to a co-worker and they know you didn't fill out the form and THEY have to deal with the same mess because you, what, didn't want to narc after you were inconvenienced and then treated extremely rudely?

It wasn't an HR manager - we don't have one, we hired this company to handle this stuff, and it isn't MY job. Our HR/AP/AR/guru lady asked me if I wanted to, because she was asked by our account representative at the company. She is in agreement with me, BTW. Again - it is not my job.

If this is how this company wants to conduct business it is not my responsibility when they screw up with another employee - it is on them. I really hope you weren't insinuating a shift of blame to me for their bad practices.

It is my opinion that businesses shouldn't have to rely on customers to correct their employee's actions. I can appreciate that you are a business consultant in the IT field, and I can extrapolate that you probably have dealt with customer service issues.

However, can you see that a business practice of relying on customer complaints to correct service issues is a "money saving" technique that many consumers will want to limit dealing with? I almost exclusively shop at Target instead of Walmart for this same reason (except when I have CC rewards). This is the glory of the (hehe) semi-free market.

Can you appreciate that I might have a good reason for having a differing opinion?

[mombottoo]

I would file the complaint. It is a company that works for the company you work for...it's not the same as customer service you receive from your bank or some other idividual you have direct contact with...you can't take your business elsewhere in this situation.

I agree with your HR dept & the other employee...by not filling out the form you are in a way doing a disservice to the other employees who may run into the same issue in the future.

[Russ]

Any action you take that can or will benefit the company you are working for, is everybodys job. That, IMO, is just being responsible.

[Greebo]

Another good business practice that management uses is documenting incidents so they can justify getting rid of bad employees. A complaint filed by you would be a very strong indicator - carrying far more weight in many eyes than simply the report of a manager.

One can allege "that manager had it in for me" but if the company has documented complaints from outside, the allegation of bias falls flat.

You did ask if you were "totally off base here". I maintain that you were, and continue to be. I think you're trying to put all of the responsibility for customer service upon management - and are refusing to acknowledge that one word from a customer can bring management's attention to where it otherwise might not be falling. You don't know HOW the company "wants to do business" - you were asked to file a complaint, however - and the existence of a complaint form suggests that they DON'T want to do business that way - so from where I sit, all you're doing is enabling the bad employee.

That said, you're certainly free to do as you wish.

[NcsstyBrdsIngnty]

I think you're trying to put all of the responsibility for customer service upon management - and are refusing to acknowledge that one word from a customer can bring management's attention to where it otherwise might not be falling.

Greebo: Not management - the company itself (along with anyone of company that makes profit off of it's profit). And yes, it is the company's responsibility to make sure their employees don't cut people off when they speak and mislead customers about their accounts during phone calls. I'm sorry, I'm not going to budge on that one. Your insinuation that a consumer is even partly to blame by not reporting bad things (when they can let their money walk somewhere else) is, in my eyes, silly talk that marketing managers like to make. Like the consumer should feel guilty to a company for not making it's profitability higher? Yep, gonna agree to disagree on this one.


I do see that there is a good point to be made that our company is paying this company for this service (thanks Shoiji and Rcannon)- so it would be responsible to make sure that managers at my company know of the situation so they can make informed decisions as to whether or not to resign contracts with the benefit company. Too true -

[Greebo]

Maybe you should ask your managers if they can be everywhere at once and monitor every conversation every employee is making every minute of the day while also getting their own duties done.

I'm not saying the company isn't responsible - you can stop putting those words in my mouth now. I'm saying your complaint form 1) may bring their attention to a problem they don't yet know exists and 2) WILL help them FIX the problem.

Why are you so resistant to helping the people who are serving you and your company do a better job?

[KeithBC]

When the service company's management is asked to assess their company's performance for their own shareholders, they can honestly answer, "We have had no complaints." Withholding feedback from them deprives them of motivation to improve their service to YOU.